100 books like By Persons Unknown

By George Jonas,

Here are 100 books that By Persons Unknown fans have personally recommended if you like By Persons Unknown. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

Michael Mullin Author Of Gothic Revival

From my list on books that bring us closer to Frankenstein’s monster.

Why am I passionate about this?

Most people think of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece as horror, but the truth is – and I love this fact! – Frankenstein is widely considered to be the first science fiction novel. I’ve always been fascinated with the origin story of the novel: Lord Byron’s ghost-story writing competition proposed among friends at Geneva’s Villa Diodati in 1816. I’ve watched every movie version of that iconic gathering. (Most are bad. Oh well.) As a college professor, I taught Frankenstein in a writing class. (I was also a preschool teacher. Honest! Those kids read other books.)

Michael's book list on books that bring us closer to Frankenstein’s monster

Michael Mullin Why did Michael love this book?

Another meticulously researched work of nonfiction, this book opened my eyes to the connection between real-life murders in Victorian England and the start of the public’s obsession with detective fiction.

As a fan of mysteries and thrillers in which not all characters survive, I was fascinated to see how the genre literally began. I’ve read a bunch of the old serialized tales, the “Penny Dreadfuls” talked about in this book, and I loved seeing them placed into their larger historical and cultural context.

By Judith Flanders,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Invention of Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'We are a trading community, a commercial people. Murder is doubtless a very shocking offence, nevertheless as what is done is not to be undone, let us make our money out of it.' Punch

Murder in the 19th century was rare. But murder as sensation and entertainment became ubiquitous - transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama and opera - even into puppet shows and performing dog-acts.

In this meticulously researched and compelling book, Judith Flanders - author of 'The Victorian House' - retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder - both famous…


Book cover of The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder

Greg Marquis Author Of Truth & Honour: The Oland Family Murder Case That Shocked Canada

From my list on the history of murder.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an academic, I have been researching Canadian police and criminal justice history since the 1980s and I teach courses on the history of policing, crime, drugs and homicide, and capital punishment. In 2014 I began to cover a high-profile murder trial in my region of Canada and ended up writing a best-selling book on the case. The Oland case reinforced my interest in true crime, both as a research topic and a cultural phenomenon. True crime, whether set in the distant past or contemporary times, offers writers and readers alike fascinating forays into specific societies and communities as well as human nature.

Greg's book list on the history of murder

Greg Marquis Why did Greg love this book?

Similar to my second choice, this American study explores the impact of a sensational unsolved death on early Victorian New York and America in general. In 1841 Marie Rogers, an attractive young woman who worked in a tobacco shop, was found dead in the Hudson River, suspected to be a victim of murder. The case was well covered in the press and exposed weaknesses in the city’s system of policing.  The author details how Edgar Allen Poe furthered early detective fiction in his story The Mystery Marie Roger, which although set in Paris borrowed heavily from the New York events. An example of how the public can make a celebrity out of a murder victim who is not from the elite.     

By Daniel Stashower,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Beautiful Cigar Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

On July 28, 1841, the body of Mary Rogers, a twenty-year-old cigar girl, was found floating in the Hudson-and New York's unregulated police force proved incapable of solving the crime. One year later, a struggling writer named Edgar Allan Poe decided to take on the case-and sent his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, to solve the baffling murder of Mary Rogers in "The Mystery of Marie Rogt."


Book cover of The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

Greg Marquis Author Of Truth & Honour: The Oland Family Murder Case That Shocked Canada

From my list on the history of murder.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an academic, I have been researching Canadian police and criminal justice history since the 1980s and I teach courses on the history of policing, crime, drugs and homicide, and capital punishment. In 2014 I began to cover a high-profile murder trial in my region of Canada and ended up writing a best-selling book on the case. The Oland case reinforced my interest in true crime, both as a research topic and a cultural phenomenon. True crime, whether set in the distant past or contemporary times, offers writers and readers alike fascinating forays into specific societies and communities as well as human nature.

Greg's book list on the history of murder

Greg Marquis Why did Greg love this book?

We all know that Grisham writes best-selling fiction that has been turned into several Hollywood blockbusters. But the most frightening book by this former small-town defence lawyer is his only work of non-fiction, an account of the wrongful conviction of Ronald Keith Williamson of the 1982 sex murder of Debra Sue Carter. Williamson, who was low-hanging fruit for police and prosecutors in Ada, Oklahoma, languished in prison for 11 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence. This book should be mandatory reading for police, prosecutors, and judges and is a useful reminder that public opinion and justice are often mutually exclusive.

By John Grisham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Innocent Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

__________________
***NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES***

A gripping true-crime story of a shocking miscarriage of justice, from international bestselling thriller author John Grisham.

In the baseball draft of 1971, Ron Williamson was the first player chosen from Oklahoma. Signing with Oakland, he said goodbye to his small home town and left for California to pursue his dreams of glory.

Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and…


Book cover of Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Nation

Greg Marquis Author Of Truth & Honour: The Oland Family Murder Case That Shocked Canada

From my list on the history of murder.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an academic, I have been researching Canadian police and criminal justice history since the 1980s and I teach courses on the history of policing, crime, drugs and homicide, and capital punishment. In 2014 I began to cover a high-profile murder trial in my region of Canada and ended up writing a best-selling book on the case. The Oland case reinforced my interest in true crime, both as a research topic and a cultural phenomenon. True crime, whether set in the distant past or contemporary times, offers writers and readers alike fascinating forays into specific societies and communities as well as human nature.

Greg's book list on the history of murder

Greg Marquis Why did Greg love this book?

This is a compelling Canadian true-crime tale that captures the atmosphere of early 20th-century Toronto and explores the intersection of class, ethnicity, and societal expectations of proper moral conduct by men and women during wartime. The Masseys were a wealthy Ontario family that amassed a fortune manufacturing agricultural equipment. In 1915 Carrie Davies was an 18-year old English maid working in the home of C.A. “Bert” Massey. She killed her married employer with a revolver in front of a witness and freely admitted carrying out the crime, explaining that he had been making sexual advances towards her. I enjoyed this book as it reminds us of how legal rules and arguments in the past could be overwhelmed by public pressure and cultural expectations. Davies, who many viewed as a heroine, was acquitted of murder by an all-male jury in less than 1 hour.       

By Charlotte Gray,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Non-Fiction
Winner of the Toronto Book Award
Winner of the CAA Lela Common Award for Canadian History
Winner of the Heritage Toronto Book Award
A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year
Finalist for the RBC Taylor Prize, the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, the Ottawa Book Award, the Libris Award, the OLA Evergreen Award

A scandalous crime, a sensational trial, a surprise verdict—the true story of Carrie Davies, the maid who shot a Massey

In February 1915, a member of one of Canada’s wealthiest families was shot and…


Book cover of Bad Move

Joan Havelange Author Of Death and Denial

From my list on new and not so new murder mystery and mayhem.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write whodunits. I love a good puzzle. And I love humour. I have written five mysteries Wayward Shot, Death and Denial, a travel mystery, The Trouble with Funerals, The Suspects, my protagonists, go on another travel mystery, and Murder Exit Stage Right. I have won BWL INC best-selling author two years in a row. I am now writing another mystery Moving is Murder the publishing date is October 2023. And new to me and a challenge is a historical mystery I’m writing set in the 1900s.

Joan's book list on new and not so new murder mystery and mayhem

Joan Havelange Why did Joan love this book?

This was the first mystery thriller of Linwood’s I read. And it wasn’t the last.

Since then, I’ve read every book he has written and have never been disappointed. Bad Move is a mystery thriller set in the small town of Promise Falls.

You would think moving from the big bad city would be a good move. But no. Hence the name Bad Move. Linwood combines this mystery thriller with humour. Yes, humour in a thriller.

He is a master storyteller. 

By Linwood Barclay,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Bad Move as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Zack Walker Mystery #1

Zack Walker is a writer with an overactive imagination and two teenage children. After a murder on their street, he uproots his family from the city - insisting it's for their own good - and heads for the security of the suburbs.

However, his peaceful new life is soon shattered when he finds a body while out walking by the creek. Zack recognizes the dead man - and knows who his killer might be.

Things go from bad to worse as Zack follows a trail of deceit that leads right to his front door. To protect…


Book cover of Daughters of Olympus

Malayna Evans Author Of Neferura

From my list on badass women who left a mark on the ancient world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Egyptologist by training and a storyteller by nature. Fascinated by the origins of patriarchy since I was a small girl raised by strong women in a patriarchal context, I turned to Greek and Roman history for answers. I earned an MA and a richer understanding of the civilizations that influenced the classical period, which led to the study of Egypt and Mesopotamia and finally to a Ph.D. in Egyptology. At heart, I’m more creative than scholar. Telling stories that bring ancient Egypt to life and leave readers better informed of the challenges women have faced, and sometimes overcome, is my passion.

Malayna's book list on badass women who left a mark on the ancient world

Malayna Evans Why did Malayna love this book?

This is one of my all-time favorite retellings.

I love how Lynn shows you the story first through Demeter’s eyes, then Persephone’s. The vastly different perspectives of mother and daughter resonated.

But my favorite thing about this book was the unique and empathetic picture it drew of Hades. Lynn managed not only to challenge my idea of the goddesses but of the god at the heart of the story as well. Unexpected but appreciated. 

By Hannah Lynn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daughters of Olympus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A daughter pulled between two worlds and a mother willing destroy both to protect her...
Demeter: a goddess of life, living half of one.
Demeter did not always live in fear. Once, she loved the world and the humans who inhabited it. After an act of devastating violence, though, she hides herself away among the grasses and wildflowers. Her only solace is her daughter...
Before she was Persephone, she was Core.
Core is as bright as summer and devoted to her mother, even during their millennia in exile from Olympus. But she craves freedom. Naive and determined, she secretly builds…


Book cover of Signs of Murder: A Dana Demeter Mystery

Patricia Skalka Author Of Death Stalks Door County

From my list on protagonists who are haunted by the past.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up reading mysteries and quickly realized that, for me, the best stories were those that peered into the very heart and soul of the protagonist. I also favored books with deep roots; I wanted the present-day crime to be linked to the past. Through work and personal experience, I also understood the heavy toll of loss and grief and found myself drawn to writing a mystery series that related both in a way that was honest and real. When readers tell me that my protagonist’s pain is their pain, that his story is their story, I am both humbled and honored.   

Patricia's book list on protagonists who are haunted by the past

Patricia Skalka Why did Patricia love this book?

At my daughters’ elementary school, sign language was part of the curriculum both for hearing and deaf students, so I was intrigued to see how A. F. Whitehouse used her knowledge and experience as a former sign language interpreter in Signs of Murder.

The book, the first in an intriguing new series, features Dana Demeter, a Chicago homicide detective who grew up hearing in an all-deaf family.

Demeter struggles with her grief over a miscarriage, her anxiety over the future of her marriage, her concerns for her aging parents, and a penchant to drown her sorrows in alcohol even as she searches for the person who killed her father’s deaf friend.

A solid and satisfying read, with a twisting trail of clues into a puzzling mystery and profound insight into the world of the deaf. 

By A F Whitehouse,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Signs of Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the only hearing person in an all-Deaf family, Dana Demeter assumed a position of authority at a young age--interpreting for her parents, alerting to sounds that meant trouble, absorbing slights aimed at her twin brother.

A protector.

Now as a Chicago homicide detective, matters beyond Dana's control begin to pile up: Her father's Deaf friend is murdered and the lead investigator rejects her help, bungling the case; her husband refuses to return home until Dana deals with her grief over a miscarriage; and her Lieutenant suspends her for ten days citing a claim she was drinking on the job.…


Book cover of Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story

Judy Reeves Author Of When Your Heart Says Go: My Year of Traveling Beyond Loss and Loneliness

From my list on by women who travel the world in search of themselves.

Why am I passionate about this?

My father introduced me to the world as we paged through his old pre-WWII atlas. We traced borders and rivers with our fingers and he spoke names that were magical incantations and invitations to a world more exciting and mysterious than our midwestern home. As a reader, I was drawn to books about travel and as a budding writer, I was inspired by the adventures of “Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter” featured in the Sunday comics of my youth. I packed my bags early and my passport is never out of date. I continue to read traveloirs, and I write in my journal every day. Oh! The places I will go. 

Judy's book list on by women who travel the world in search of themselves

Judy Reeves Why did Judy love this book?

This is a dual memoir and each woman is on a quest to redefine herself. Sue Monk Kidd as a writer and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor as she asks the age-old question: “what to do with my life.” 

Written in alternating chapters, mother and daughter write of their experiences and insights as they visit sacred sights in ancient lands, places rich with myth and legend and the sacred feminine. My journey too was as a seeker, a woman thick with an urgency to write as Sue was, and as a single woman exploring “now what?” 

While I traveled alone and these women traveled together, each of us was on our own individual journey, exploring, discovering, asking questions, and seeking answers that can often only be found when we travel within.

By Sue Monk Kidd, Ann Kidd Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Traveling with Pomegranates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times bestselling memoir of pilgrimage and self-discovery by Sue Monk Kidd, the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Book of Longings, and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor

Sue Monk Kidd has touched the hearts of millions of readers with her beloved novels and acclaimed nonfiction. Now, in this wise and engrossing dual memoir, she and her daughter, Ann, chronicle their travels together through Greece and France at a time when each was on a quest to redefine herself and rediscover each other.

As Sue struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a…


Book cover of Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives

Anita Johnston Author Of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling

From my list on the archetypal feminine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a clinical psychologist who has specialized in women’s issues and disordered eating for over thirty years. Born on the island of Guam, I was raised in a matriarchal and multicultural household where storytelling was a means of transmitting important concepts, traditions, and values, and was a way to experience meaningful and joyful connections with others. Because I was raised by strong women and my indigenous ancestors were Chamorro, a matrilineal culture that honored the motherline, I have always been interested in the archetypal feminine rooted in these stories, although I didn’t discover the term until I began to study psychology.

Anita's book list on the archetypal feminine

Anita Johnston Why did Anita love this book?

When I read this book, I felt much the way I did as a teenager when I discovered astrology and began to appreciate there were patterns of behavior found in humans that were reflected in the vastness of the cosmos -- and vice versa. Who would have thought that what I considered idiosyncratic tendencies within myself and others actually were a part of a much bigger pattern that had existed for millennia in the form of ancient goddesses? I was astounded to see the personalities of my sisters, friends, mother, aunties, as well as celebrities, accurately depicted by Greek goddesses. 

In this book, Shinoda-Bolen brings to life many dimensions of the archetypal feminine that get played out in our modern lives, our individual psyches, and in our relationships.

By Jean Shinoda Bolen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Goddesses in Everywoman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jean Shinoda Bolen's celebrated work of female psychology that uses seven archetypical goddesses to describing behavior patterns and personality traits, as relevant and timeless today as when it was first published thirty years ago. Myths are fascinating stories that become even more intriguing when we realize that they can reveal intimate truths about ourselves and others. Jean Shinoda Bolen brings the Greek pantheon to life as our inner archetypes and applies the power of myth to our personal lives. Once we understand the natural progression from myth to archetype to personal psychology, and realize that positive gifts and negative tendencies…


Book cover of Seeds of the Pomegranate

Steve Griffin Author Of The Things We Thought Were Beautiful

From my list on nature poems to make you think and feel.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been writing poems since an inspirational period of study in Stirling in my twenties, when I did a lot of hill walking in the Scottish Highlands. For me, poetry that doesn’t move you, that doesn’t make you feel, is just words on a page. I love poems that make you shiver as they incongruously bear the full load of life’s mystery. I like all kinds of poetry but have a special place reserved for nature poems, poems that find the heart and soul in the landscape, rivers, and wildlife.

Steve's book list on nature poems to make you think and feel

Steve Griffin Why did Steve love this book?

Sherry Ross is an American poet who writes about loss, motherhood, and rebirth. Her nature poems reverberate with extraordinary detail and imagery, for instance, the running girl who finds the field has ended in a "party dress of hunter green," where "the trance of sunlight breaks, brings forgetfulness of open fields, distant voices, summer games." She ventures into the forest, with its ‘palate of light and dark’. Read these poems for their aching blend of sadness and joy. 

By Sherry Lazarus Ross,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Seeds of the Pomegranate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

POET magazine says of Ms. Ross' poetry that she is able to "extend the everyday moment into deep mythology, using the commonplace as an avenue into the emotions." In SEEDS OF THE POMEGRANATE, Sherry uses the ancient Greek myth of Persephone as a metaphor for her own life. In the myth of Persephone, which is retold in the book's forward, Persephone is abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. Her mother, the earth goddess Demeter, is both grief stricken and enraged at her daughter's disappearance. Obsessed with finding her daughter she neglects her duties and the land dries up…


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